A chemical reaction accelerated by a catalyst consists of (1) adsorption of a reactant to a catalytic reaction site, (2) occurrence of a reaction, and (3) desorption of a product from the surface of the catalyst. Therefore, if the adsorption specificity of the surface of the catalyst is changed, the activity and selectivity of the chemical reaction may also be greatly changed.
Accordingly, research has been mainly directed to controlling the adsorption specificity of a catalyst by increasing a catalytic reaction site in order to improve the catalytic performances such as activity and selectivity, but a technology for atomically controlling reaction sites on or inside a catalyst based on adsorption/desorption energy of a reactant or intermediate product has been rarely researched.
Meanwhile, one of major greenhouse gases that cause global warming is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is mainly generated by combustion of fossil fuels, and every year, billions of tons of carbon dioxide is emitted. Accordingly, countries around the world are accelerating the development of a technology for converting carbon dioxide into high value-added fuels or industrial chemicals using electrochemical and/or photochemical methods in order to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide (Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2014-0012017, etc.).
However, the carbon dioxide conversion technology has many limitations for commercial use, such as efficiency, selectivity, and conversion rate. The carbon dioxide conversion technology is basically a catalytic reaction, and most of the problems (high-priced precious metal catalyst, low catalytic performances, and rapid catalytic degradation, etc.) that hinder the commercial use are caused by the catalyst.
Accordingly, in order to commercialize the carbon dioxide conversion technology, the development of a catalyst that enables the production of a high value-added product with high efficiency and excellent selectivity for a long time by supplying a little energy is primarily demanded.